Correspondence Connections: St. Patrick's Day & Mother's Day

We did not hear from our Compassion kids this week, so instead of a Mail Call Monday, I thought I'd share with you the two most recent letter writing topics!

For my March online letter, I shared about how we celebrate St. Patrick's Day! My grandfather is Irish and so this was always a fun holiday growing up. I shared with our kids how we wear green and eat a special meal. And then I shared with the kids my shortened version of St. Patrick's testimony (you can read the translated official version here).

And then I shared a verse that inspired St. Patrick's ministry: Matthew 28: 18-20, "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen" (NKJV).

After writing the letter, I found a picture of the Irish flag, a map of Europe (I cropped out most of Europe, I just wanted them to see where Ireland was, in context) and a coloring page with a rainbow that says "Happy St. Patrick's Day". I thought that this would be a fun letter! You can see what it looks like below.


And then with my current paper mailing (I try to send paper letters every-other month), I included a letter about Mother's Day. I shared about our custom of taking time to thank our moms, and grandmothers and aunts and female guardians (I made it a point to include all female figures in the lives of our kids--some are cared for by grandmothers and aunts). I shared that sometimes we make a special meal for the mom-figures in our lives and sometimes we give cards and small gifts.

I also wrote a short note of gratitude for each mom-figure in our kids' lives in the letter. And I included gifts for the moms (and aunts and grandmas!) along with the stickers for each kid and his or her siblings. For most of my kids I included a recipe card for each female guardian. But for four of our kids' moms, I included a cute notebook! I found these notebooks when I was unpacking from our move in September. They're soft-cover and flexible and slightly less than 1/4 inch thick!


I sent the notebooks to the moms of Franco,



Mary,



Valeria,



and Earl John.



I chose these moms for various reasons. Franco's father just passed away and I wanted to encourage his mom in a special way! Mary's mom writes for her and so I feel like I know Juana, Mary's mom, better than Mary herself! I was given the opportunity to speak with Valeria's mom, Luz, on the phone while my friend Kristen was in Colombia (you can read about that visit here). And Earl John's mom, Juvy, has been writing the sweetest notes in Earl John's letters. Juvy is actually the one who inspired me to write a Mother's Day themed letter--she shared how much she appreciated my Mother's Day note to her last year! She said she was so encouraged by hearing from me.

Finally, I wanted to share a photo of our wall! This is one of our living room walls--I love having our kids in my sightline all day as it reminds me to be praying for them throughout the day. And Juanito loves looking at all the photos...if we ask him where his "Hermanos de Compasion" (Compassion siblings), he points to the photos! And we go over all their names every day. He really enjoys going over each kids name! He can even point to most of the kids by name.


Have you written to your kids recently? And do you have your kids photos hanging in your house?

My "Correspondence Connections" post was inspired by Michelle from Blogging from the Boonies--I highly recommend that you check out her blog! She has lots of great ideas for letter topics and fun things to include in your letters.